Quote of the Day (George Ade, on the Requirements of Musical Comedy)

“The so-called music of musical comedy must be the kind that any messenger boy can learn to whistle after hearing it twice. At the same time it must satisfy the tall-browed critic who was brought up on Tschaikowsky and Bach. As for the dialogue, it must be guaranteed to wring boisterous laughter from the three-dollar patron who has a facial angle of thirty degrees, and a cerebellum about the size of an olive; also it must have sufficient literary quality and subtle humor to please the dead-head who is sitting in the fourth row with a hammer in one hand and a harpoon in the other.”—American humorist—and musical-comedian librettist—George Ade, “Musical Comedy,” in The America of George Ade: 1866-1944: Fables, Short Stories, Essays, edited by Jean Shepherd (1960)

Quote of the Day (George Ade, on a Particular Woman)

“She was short on intellect, but long on shape.”—Attributed to George Ade

The American humorist and playwright, an inspiration to radio legend Jean Shepherd, was born on this date in 1844.